Aerial Images Show Iranian Naval Forces and Nuclear Sites Hit by US-Israeli Strikes.
A series of US and Israeli airstrikes has reportedly destroyed or damaged no fewer than 11 Iran's navy ships starting Saturday, freshly analyzed aerial photos show, with missile bases and nuclear sites also sustaining hits.
Images of the southerly Konarak military port and the Bandar Abbas port installation, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and contains the headquarters of the Iranian navy, reveal smoke billowing from several ships on the start of the week.
Naval Forces Incurred Major Losses
Among the targets eliminated was the Makran, Iran's biggest warship which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images indicated dark plumes pouring from the vessel which had been moored at the Bandar Abbas naval base.
Intelligence assessments indicate that no fewer than a quintet of warships at Bandar Abbas were "hit or sunk". Imagery of the southern end of the port show smoke rising from the IRINS Makran, while additional ships appear to be damaged, with a single one seen burning.
At the Konarak base, images display multiple harmed ships, with intelligence reports pointing to damage to six vessels. Images taken on the start of the week also show that multiple structures at the base have been leveled.
"For many years the Iran's leadership has harassed commercial vessels," the head of US Central Command stated. "Today, there is no vessel from Iran operational in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop."
A number of vessels reportedly destroyed may have been hidden in satellite images by weather conditions or battle damage, or targeted offshore, and have yet to be fully confirmed. Separate reports stated that an Iranian vessel was sinking off the coast of Sri Lankan territorial waters, resulting in a rescue operation.
Rocket Installations and Nuclear Locations Attacked
The destruction of Iran's rocket sites and the hindering of atomic bomb programs were declared as other goals of the military strikes. Satellite images also depicted damage at the southerly Khorgu and north-western Tabriz missile missile bases, and at the Konarak base, where rocket warehouses and bunkers were targeted.
At the Choqa Balk-e UAV facility west of the city of Kermanshah, extensive destruction was seen to warehouses, underground facilities and unmanned aircraft systems.
Damage was also seen at a radar installation at the Zahedan airbase airbase in eastern parts of the country, near the border with neighboring nations.
Significantly, the most recent series of attacks have apparently targeted installations at the Natanz complex – considered at the core of Iran's nuclear programme. An international watchdog commented that the damaged structures were used for entry to the site's underground enrichment facility and that "no nuclear fallout" was likely.
Wider Consequences and Assessment
Military analysts indicated that the attacks appeared to have "significantly degraded" the Iran's naval ability to sustain standard operations using its biggest vessels. However, it was stressed that Iran maintains the option to launch asymmetric warfare at sea through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, small submarines and its so-called "clandestine network" of oil ships.
The overall extent of the destruction caused to Iran's defense facilities is still uncertain, with hostilities reportedly persisting. Photos also indicates widespread destruction to the main offices of the the IRGC in the city of Tehran.
Numerous of civilian buildings also appear to have been damaged in the capital and throughout the country after the fighting started. Casualty figures from local officials state that a high number of civilians may have been fatally injured in the strikes.
As the situation develops, review of aerial photographs will continue to document the unfolding military landscape.